It is the Mission of the Nebraska Family Forum (NFF) to promote education policies in our state that preserve and protect parental authority and the integrity of the family. In so doing, we will preserve the cooperative and respectful relationship between school authorities and parents, preserve a family-centered community, and provide a well-rounded education for our kids.

Pages

Search This Blog

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Another NFF member observes Douglas County "truancy" court

On Monday, July 29, NFF
member Stacy Ryan observed “truancy” court at the Douglas County
Courthouse.Stacy has a law degree, but
attended merely as a concerned parent and citizen of our county.These are her observations, comments, and opinions, in
her own words:

“I attended the truancy
"party" on Monday. I say party because the number of times they
said "We invited you,” was about five. They "invited"
these families to this meeting; if you are a radar kid they might
"invite" you to come back and talk to the county attorney.They
also started the program by saying "Thank you for coming.” Comments
like this infer that attendance was voluntary and they are there for a casual
meeting and sincerely offering help."

My Observations:

At least 100 people in that
room. Standing room only by about 3:35 PM.

I found it curious that there
were no teachers/principals or representatives from the schools present. If you
get a speeding ticket and the cops don't show you can have your ticket
dismissed. The state needs a witness. Apparently if they
"invited" you to this you are de facto "guilty"?

After they explained that if
you are a radar kid or a kid who needs diversion they added that, "We have
not looked at all your files. We don't know your story." If they
don't know your story how did they decide between labeling you a radar kid or a
diversion kid?

The woman in charge explained
that the people present might wonder why they were there because it’s summer.
She explained that they have a "backlog" of cases and this was
the first opportunity to "invite" them all there.

She explained that rather
than filing a court case they "investigate" and decide whether to
file. I'd like to know what their "investigation" entails
since they admit they do not know everybody's story. HOW did they decide
who to keep there?

She claimed diversion is
voluntary. But they might feel the need to take it to court so it was to the
families’ benefit to tell their story to them.

I was shocked that it was
announced that someone from probation was present to do urine analyses on
children. If a parent wanted to take
advantage of that "we can set that up for you." Are they
offering to put your kid on probation??

Following is a list of
different “service providers” present and what they offer: Career
counseling, mentoring, college credit, provide an advocate, tutoring,
"help" for those struggling in school, they will identify the
"barriers" to consistent attendance, therapy, they will meet at their
homes or schools, behavioral issues, help and support for "anything".
By the way what does this cost and who's paying?

After the speeches from the
providers, the radar kids could leave. About 35 names were called off and
they all headed for the door. I saw maybe two families go back to talk to the
providers. Most people wanted the heck out of there.

There was a family near the
back with about five little kids. I sat
in back closer to this family and there was another family (two parents and a
boy around age 11) in the very back a few seats from the woman with the kids. Grandma
and Mom were trying to deal with a crying toddler and the other kids. The man
with the 11-year-old at one point leaned over and said very loudly to the
struggling Grandma and Mom: "Shut the ****ing kid up!"
(this same family was let go and as he passed me he said loudly "Let’s
get the **** out of here.”

About 5-10 minutes later Deputy
County Attorney Jordan Boler came to the Mom and Grandma (instead of calling
them up front) and said she'd get them out of there because "You have your
hands full."Since they were really
close to me, I could hear what Boler was telling them. Boler made her pitch offering services and got
out the two-part form I saw they used with everybody. She wanted a good phone number for them, she
wanted their agreement, she wanted to set up a future appointment. She
offered that "They can come to your house.” Mom went along with it
all. It appeared that the oldest child who looked to be about 7-8 was the
diversion kid (she had pretty small children, I thought the MOM might have been
the student). At one point Boler looked
at the 8-year-old diversion boy and said, "You are struggling? I know…we'll
get you out of here."

A boy about 16 went up with
his Mom. They were Hispanic, there was an interpreter nearby and Boler talked
to them too. The boy at one point expressed he didn't want their services.
Boler was repeating what he said. "What happens if you refuse?"
She explained that they would then have to decide whether to take it to
court. The kid didn't want to agree and
then Boler suggested that he could go sit down and "think about it.”

It actually took me about
three cases to understand that the kids who had to stay were right then and
there agreeing to diversion and services. In the beginning it sounds like
they are there to "help" them so it is not real clear that
"help" means you agree to services which means you agree to be put on
diversion. I do not think the parents understand what they are getting
into when they sign those forms put under their noses.

The last couple I watched sat
in front of me. Very quiet, very respectful. When they were called up, they
listened intently to the prosecutor (a blonde girl named Cara).The couple had a girl who was about eleven
years old.Dad talked intently to Cara
after Cara went thru her schpeel. I
can't say for sure but it appeared he said something about wanting to handle
their child themselves as far as services. They did not sign anything. After a
long speech by Cara and the dad talking, the mom asked, "What happens next?"
and Cara mentioned court in a long, roundabout way. It appears to me they
don't want to be direct with these parents maybe because face-to-face
confrontation isn't anyone's idea of fun. But when they present their
services and form to the parents they ought to be required not to sugar coat it
so the parents "get" that they are letting the government into their
lives when they sign that form.

After observing “truancy”
court, several things bothered me:

-Cattle call
forum. But, if you complain that this should be private what will they say/do
to these families and no one can watch?

-HIPAA
issues.It’s nobody's business if you do
want services for your kid.People
telling their story in a loud room with three other prosecutors talking to
others, interpreters repeating everything and chit chat going on the whole
time. If you want to you can listen though. These parents are forced to
talk to these prosecutors with their child in front of a bunch of other people.
Having to explain asthma or ADHD or any medical issue shouldn't be done in this
forum. A young kid can feel badly that
their medical or mental issue is getting Mom and Dad in trouble. In my
opinion, those issues are none of the court’s business.

-No school reps
there to provide support to the claim that each kid missed 20 or more days of
school.

-Time it took to
do this. Why are they wasting the time of the families of the 40 kids
they labeled radar kids, and making them come down there only to let them go
after they are forced to listen to these providers? It’s got to cost them
something too...I couldn't get a parking spot because of all the construction,
not the easiest place to get into. So you either plug a meter and hope
this doesn't take more than 2 hours or pay to park across the street. People likely took off work as well.

-No lawyer present
for the families so that they could understand what they were signing (double
edge sword there). A lawyer isn't necessarily a good thing but it’s clear
to me the parents don't know their rights, they are led to believe this is
"voluntary" but they are then coerced because if they do not agree to
the services they will be taken to court.

-Sing-songy
attitude by the prosecutors claiming they "invited" everybody makes
one think this is voluntary. They say the word voluntary. This is
NOT voluntary. They aren't real clear in the beginning that if you don't
agree they will be going to court. They don't make this clear until the
families meet one on one with the prosecutor. THEN sometimes they got around to
telling them they go to court if you don't agree. The mom with all the kids was not told that
court is what happens if she won't agree. That mom just went along with it
likely because she did have her hands full, she'd been cussed at by another
parent and she wanted out of there! She
signed off almost immediately.

-What does the
form say that they are signing?

-What are these
"appointments" the prosecutor sets up with the families signing the
forms? A court date? Another “invitation”?
A private meeting? They don't explain to the parents (unless
the form says what it is). Jordan Boler
would say: "Let's set up an appointment." She specifically set
up September 4th at 3:30 with one family, which led me to believe it’s another
"invite" to this cattle call meeting.

I'd like to get a copy of the
form and I'd like to see the "invite" that came to all these families
"inviting" them to attend.

I'd love to meet someone who
believes this helped their child.

I will be attending more
truancy "parties”, even though nobody "invited" me.

11 comments:

It sounds like absolutely NOTHING has changed since the NFF started covering this "truancy" law. Do we know if the numbers of cases being herded through this humiliating process has dropped since the 2012 amendment that allowed schools to be more particular about which students they referred for this treatment. Schools are no longer required to refer students at 20 days of absence. They have full discretion to excuse students absences and therefore full discretion to protect these students and their families or not. If a family ends up at the cattle call it was entirely because of their principle and superintendent.

Perhaps NFF members need to stand outside of these meetings and hand out flyers to parents advertising the NFF, it's efforts, and informing parents what there rights are.

There are more family stories that are need to be published here and more families that need to know they can stand against this. They need to understand what they are in for when they sign the dotted line.

I hope they will consider stories like this one from Millard mother, Martha Myles - a story that must be told!

Martha’s daughter entered Douglas County “truancy diversion”, despite the fact that her absences were due to serious illness. Martha felt pressured into the "voluntary" “truancy diversion” as her only option to avoid court proceedings.

Their personal lives were probed and Martha and her daughter felt violated by the whole process. Martha worked with doctors for years to diagnose the causes her daughter’s severe migraines and other related illnesses. She and her daughter endured the added stress of being under the constant scrutiny and monitoring of law enforcement for the “excessive absenteeism” of her daughter even though her daughters grades were very good.

Stephanie, we are working with the Latino and African-American communities on informing parents of their rights. According to those who have observed "truancy" court, it sounds as if possibly as many as 90% of the children involved are black or brown skinned, and about half are non-English speaking.

One more must read that addresses the farse that this truancy law is about helping kids, inviting them to partake of benevolent services voluntarily; The NCCPR report (http://www.nebraskafamilyforum.org/2012/05/nccpr-report-truancy-sidebar.html)

In August of 2011, more than 20 families were forced to gather at the Douglas County Courthouse for an exercise in mass humiliation that sounds like something out of the 17th Century.

One-by-one the families, parents and children, were called to the front of the room to be publicly cross-examined by a deputy county attorney.

In a bizarre move, apparently unheard-of in any other state and diametrically opposed to what national experts consider best practice, Nebraska has erased the distinction between an excused and unexcused absence from school. The very term “truancy” was replaced by “excessive absences.”

Even a diversion program causes tremendous needless stress when there is nothing to divert. A “hammer” is not necessary to deal with a sick child because a sick child is not a nail. Neither is a child whose only crime is to have been a victim of bullies.

I tried to observe the "private" meetings this past Wednesday. I was told I would not even be able to sit in the waiting area. That may be due to the fact that I have been regularly attending and observing Truancy diversion this summer. I have also been very vocal my opinions regarding the process. Mr. Kleine has no business dispensing social services to families in our County. If the schools and superintendents believe that families need "services", they should be discussing these issues directly with the families they serve.

I have taken the time to personally speak with several of the parents and children drug into this colossal waste of our tax dollars. Most the parents come from Omaha Public Schools. It appears as though this school district, in particular, refers any kid to the County Attorney at the 20 day mark. The reason for the absence (illness, family vacation, mission trips, athletic trips) is irrelevant, at least in the schools eyes. OPS is NOT doing its job. Instead, the district just passes the buck to the newest member of the bureaucracy..."The Truancy Diversion" team down at DO. CO. Remember....Senator Brad Ashford, relative of District Court Judge Mark Ashford (?), a lawyer himself created this monstrosity. When the law was passed, Sen. Ashford referred to the "crisis" in truancy in our state. Alas, the facts just don't support his outrageous rhetoric. We here in Nebraska have one of the highest rates of school attendance in the Country. While there are some schools and districts with attendance issues, Sen. Ashford failed to visit the area of our state with the greatest absenteeism problem. Thinking the "crisis" in OPS? Nope. The "crisis" is in Thurston County, Nebraska. Now for all Sen. Ashford's rhetoric, wouldn't ya know he has never visited the people of Thurston County. Why exactly do we "need" this legislation?

Ambiguity about the "diversion" process is an important element. Many parents have no idea whether the "recommendations" are mandatory or just friendly suggestions from the young prosecutors. I do not believe ANY of the prosecutors have children or hands on parenting experience. Basically, if you get sucked into this process, the state (via Mr. Kleine's office) will be evaluating you, your parenting style, your child....lets get some "services" into the home so we can see just exactly what is going on. If we decide we don't like your "parenting style", we have detailed notes and materials we can pass on the the person who will be prosecuting you for "educational neglect". What is "educational neglect"? Well, I wish I could explain exactly what constitutes "educational neglect", but Ms. Boler had a difficult time explaining just exactly what the term means when I last chatted with her about my many concerns regarding "the diversion festivities" conducted each week at the DO CO courthouse.

And what about GOALS ( the experiment funded by the Sherwood Foundation, the Hawks Foundation and other wealthy Omahans)? Well, I regret to inform you that less than 200 cases were "diverted" to GOALS last year. GOALS has been in existence for two years now. They have spent thousands and thousands of dollars helping less than 200 families last year. In the meantime, 3000 families last year were told they need to report to "Truancy Court" at the DO. CO courthouse. The parents called into "truancy court" take time off work, sit for a long period of time, and then listen to the the young prosecutors second guess their parenting decisions.

I would like also to add to what Laura McCormick reports about GOALS helping only fewer than 200 families last year, when during the same time period, thousands of families were being referred straight to the county attorney's office.

Besides the Nebraska legislature causing families to be treated as Guinea Pigs through a process that mislabels and slanders children and families, routinely threatens child removals inappropriately, and allows prosecutors and judges to acts as pseudo social workers, educators, doctors, and even parents, what sort of "HELP" are we talking about??

One family I closely followed whose sick daughter not only was dragged in front of Judge Elizabeth Crnkovich to "face her crime" of being highly allergic to foods, asthmatic, and poor, but then also *handcuffed* by the judge for expressing emotion after being told she was going to be REMOVED from her home - needed primarily two types of help: RESPECT FOR THE MOTHER'S ABILITY TO KNOW WHEN HER DAUGHTER IS TOO ILL TO GO TO SCHOOL AND ... RELIABLE AND SAFE TRANSPORTATION.

Since the court and these pseudo social workers weren't about to give the benefit of the doubt to the girl's mother, that left only one issue to address: TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM SCHOOL.

I imagine this is one of the most practical issues many people struggling with resources experience, but with all the money thrown at GOALS, and these "attendance initiatives," you would certainly think that would have been an easy fix, right?

Amazingly no.

Even with constant requests by the family and my fervent advocacy, neither the school nor NFC (the child welfare management company) could muster up a single workable solution or effective referral to help a 90-pound teenaged girl (deemed "at risk" by the court) get from 93rd and Blondo to Omaha South High School.

I heard GOALS helped some kids apply for library cards. I have yet to meet a single family who praises any of these systems, officials, and organization for offering the type of help families say they truly need.

My guideline for knowing whether families are actually being helped is this: What service(s) is/are available and offered that would eliminate or alleviate the barriers IDENTIFIED AND ASKED FOR BY THE FAMILIES THEMSELVES?

If you can't do that, you aren't helping at all. You are simply moving through a giving the appearance of propriety, forcing families and children to fit into predetermined "services" that disconnected interests came up with around a conference table while sipping Starbuck's lattes. It's a totally unworkable and UNhelpful paradigm.

And THIS is why $50 million dollars has been mismanaged while these people continue claiming they should be trusted to create solutions for families. FUNDERS BEWARE! Anything can be explained with tortured statistics and fluffy, feel-good rhetoric. Go to the families themselves and ask how it's really going. We'll can help you out. And we won't even charge you a dime.

Hello, I am the grandma from the "cattle call" on July 29. I was there with my daughter ( age 26 FYI ) and her 4 children ( aged 8, 4,3 & 2 ). It was not planned that the kids, except the 8 yr old, to attend, unfortunately, it was unavoidable. I'll begin by saying that my grandson did indeed miss the days of school or at least partial days. All of those absences were excused. My daughter was never cautioned by the school, never called in for a conference. The first time she knew of the problem was when she received her "invitation" letter. This child is an excellent student, at or above grade level in most areas. This young family is struggling to manage against things most people can't even imagine. I look at them with pride, and I'm frankly amazed that the kids are doing as well as they are. Yes, they got out of control that day. They absolutely shouldn't have been there. The extremely loud and very rude man who yelled at us exacerbated an already bad situation. My daughter who is fighting for her very sanity after a total breakdown nearly collapsed after his outburst. The children were keying in to her hysteria. For the record, we did not agree to anything, other than attendance at the mandatory next meeting. The phone numbers they took were mine, as I am now advocating for both my grandchildren and my daughter. Both she and my grandson are already receiving mental health services, so the state's "help" i.e. interference is a moot point. Most of the conversation we had was with NFF's own Laura McCormick, who was most helpful. This "truancy" system is an absolute travesty. How ridiculous to throw frightened 8 year olds with documented physical and/or mental health issues in the same category with belligerent 16 year olds! The abuse of the system and it's power sickens this overwhelmed grandmother!

Please....please....get in touch with me as soon as possible. My personal e-mail is brendavosik@gmail.com. An 8-year-old child should never be in diversion, but the fact that all of his absences were excused makes a completely wrong situation even worse. This law, which criminalizes staying home from school sick, does not help families. As you are witnessing first hand, it causes great harm to families, especially those who are already struggling.

If the school did not have a meeting with your daughter prior to referring your grandson to the county attorney, they have violated state statute. Isn't it interesting that the county attorney feels compelled to enforce only part of the statute (cracking down on absent kids) but they do not enforce the requirements placed on the school that are written into that same statute.

I'm sorry to tell you that I think it's possible your daughter HAS agreed to diversion if she signed a form saying she would come to the next meeting. Once you agree to that, you're subject to whatever "requirements" the young county attorneys wish to place on you--mandated counseling (at your own expense), possibly home visits, whatever "services" they wish to mandate for you. Of course diversion is touted as "voluntary" -- but you better volunteer or the consequences could be dire.

I would like to help you. I have no agenda other than: 1) helping children and families get out of this unwarranted entanglement with law enforcement, and 2) repealing this law entirely.

Follow by Email

The Personal Impact of Nebraska's School Attendance Law

We began collecting stories in April of 2011 and will continue to collect them as long as the law is abused. The stories we have collected demonstrate how our community has been impacted by Nebraska's school attendance law that counts all absences rather than "unexcused" absences for purposed of "truancy".

It may seem by the district by district breakdown that the law has impacted Millard Public Schools the most, but it is important to note that the Nebraska Family Forum grew out of the Millard Parent Society and therefore the awareness within Millard Public Schools is longstanding.

Out of the 3000+ cases referred to the Douglas County Attorney last year only 400 came from MPS. For every story collected here it is reasonable to assume that they represent dozens more who are affected who have not written their thoughts in a public way.

The Facebook Effect

Nebraska Family Forum: What we Stand For

Mission:

It is the Mission of the Nebraska Family Forum (NFF) to promote education policies in our state that preserve and protect parental authority and the integrity of the family. In so doing, we will preserve the cooperative and respectful relationship between school authorities and parents, preserve a family-centered community, and provide a well-rounded education for our kids.

NFF Guiding Principles:

Family is Key: We believe the family is the single most important element to a child’s ability to learn and be successful in school and life, and parents are the foundation upon which family success rests. For this reason, it’s imperative that the state honor the authority of parents as they exercise their natural rights, obligations, and responsibilities to raise, manage, direct, and educate their children.

Freedom in Education is essential: We believe that flexibility in education, school choice, stimulating curriculum, quality teachers, and innovative education reforms are essential to a family centered education. We support policies that will lead to greater parental influence in education innovation, curriculum, and choice.

Family struggles are a healthy part of life: We believe that the fundamental right of a parent does not cease to exist simply because a parent may fail to be a model parent. Parents often struggle to meet the needs of their children, but this is not in itself sufficient cause for unwanted and unwarranted government intrusion into family life. We join with Father Steven Boes of Boys Town in "proclaiming that not only are there no bad boys, as Father Flanagan taught, but there are no bad families.” There is always at least one person in a family that wants what is best for their children and is willing to ask for and receive the help they need.

Government Intrusion can be Harmful: We believe that the right of parents to raise their children without undue government interference is a fundamental liberty that has long been protected by the Constitution of the United States and is not void upon the enrollment of ones child in a public school. We warn that governments who seek to micro-manage the everyday choices of parents in pursuit prescribed outcomes, will do great harm to the integrity of the family and by extension, the well-being of children and society as a whole.

Mother… I think of all the lessons she has modeled for me throughout my life in topics from boys to academia to love in and of family to the meaning of true success… now I heed her lessons in balancing my life, work and passions. All the while, she is my teacher, one with the honored and sacred name of Mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell, And would some pretty story tell, Or kiss the place to make it well? My mother.

The Simple Truths

Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. ~ Ernest Dimnet

Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught. ~ Oscar Wilde

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. ~ William Butler Yeats

Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten. ~ B. F. Skinner

Education... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading. ~ G. M. Trevelyan

Every educated person is a future enemy. ~ Martin Bormann

I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly. ~ Michel de Montaigne

In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. ~ Mark Twain

It is a thousand times better to have common sense without education than to have education without common sense. ~ Robert Green Ingersoll

Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants. ~ John W. Gardner

No man who worships education has got the best out of education... Without a gentle contempt for education no man's education is complete. ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Real education must ultimately be limited to men who insist on knowing, the rest is mere sheep-herding. ~ Ezra Pound

The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. ~ Robert M. Hutchins

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. ~ Albert Einstein

To the uneducated, an A is just three sticks. ~ A. A. Milne

Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. ~ Albert Einstein

The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next. ~ Abraham Lincoln

My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors. ~aya Angelou

Dad kept us out of school, but school comes and goes. Family is forever.

I hated school. Even to this day, when I see a school bus it's just depressing to me. The poor little kids. ~ Dolly Parton

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~ Kurt Vonnegut

One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters. ~George Herbert

Dad kept us out of school, but school comes and goes. Family is forever.

"The amount of freedom to which a person is entitled is strictly measured by the amount of freedom he is willing to allow his fellow man." ~ Verlan Andersen

"You complain of bad city government. It is ultimately the fault of the people themselves if it is bad... In no way can you bring about decency in your Government so quickly as by backing up the men (and women) who represent your interests, rewarding those who are faithful and punishing those who fail in their duty." ~ Theodore Roosevelt